Winter Update: Nella, Suor Angelica, Juliette and Donna Anna

It has been a busy, interesting few months since my last update. Here at the Royal Northern College of Music we are officially half-way through the academic year, meaning I only have five more months of being a student! 

Last term most of my time went into the RNCM's Puccini Double Bill - I performed the role of Nella in Gianni Schicchi and covered the title role in Suor Angelica. The show opened in December and we had a great response from both audiences and critics. I learned a lot from both these roles; Nella has a lot of spunk, and my comedic ability was put to good use - our director Robert Chevara succeeded in putting together a hilarious production. Suor Angelica on the other hand, had me in tears every show. I had to learn to be vocally intelligent, finding a suitable balance between giving this tragic show every bit of the emotional energy it deserves, while also protecting my voice from too much wear and tear.

​I also had the privilege of singing Mimi in Act 4 of La Boheme with the Nottingham Philharmonic in October. This was my first big chunk of the role, and I was excited to find that it fit my voice like a glove - now I can't wait for the opportunity to sing the role in its entirety! ​

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It's audition season on this side of the world, and since October I have been sending off dozens of applications to young artist programmes, opera studios, opera companies and summer schools. Some days I think I spend more time on administration for this sort of thing then I do singing! Still, it must be done. 
I had a few very frustrating weeks, where I was offered auditions at three major houses in Europe and America, but ended up not being able to go because UK Immigration had my passport. I tried everything I could, but had no luck. Obviously, it was not meant to be.
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I was lucky enough to be able to go home to New Zealand for the Christmas period, taking a much anticipated break. 
When I came back in January, I had a couple of days to settle back in before flying to Basel, Switzerland for an audition and then on to Dublin to compete in the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. While I didn't get the job in Basel or get where I wanted to in the competition, it's all experience and exposure! Though I will say, that doesn't necessarily make it easier to hear a "no". But, as a friend told me recently, every no you get is one step closer to a yes. ​

​A couple of weeks ago myself and four other RNCM students put together an opera gala for the Bridgewater Hall's lunchtime concert series. Though I was ill at the time, it was a fantastic concert and we had a very appreciative audience of about 800 people. ​

L-R: Eliza Boom, Ieuan Jones, Silvia Magagni, Iain Henderson and Lucy Vallis

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Since then, I have spent a lot of time on trains. I have been shadowing the role of Lauretta in Opera North's production of Gianni Schicchi, which has meant traveling back and forth to Leeds a number of times. I have also spent a bit of time in London for auditions, last week going down on three separate occasions! I must admit it will be nice to be in Manchester for the next couple of weeks. I have a few concerts coming up, singing some lovely song repertoire for the RNCM's Day of Song as well as a performance of Haydn's Nelson Mass.

In May I will be performing Mahler's 4th Symphony with the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra, and in June I have my final recital at the RNCM. It's a shared recital with my fellow International Artist, Iain Henderson; we are going to be performing some song repertoire in the first half, followed by 40 minutes of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette. It's going to be a fun project, semi-staged and following the majority of the storyline. 

Finally, I'm very excited to announce that my big project for the coming months is learning the role of Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) for Clonter Opera. This will be performed in July, and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into another Mozart role - it's been a wee while!

Well, that's all from me for now! As always, thank you for supporting me on my journey. It means a lot to have your support.

Eliza x